This June wrapped up my first year as an English Language Arts (ELA) teacher on the west side of Chicago. Most of my students were below grade level. Having to differentiate taught me a lot about what students need to know in order to be at a third grade level; what we call vertical progression.

My style of teaching allows students to perform most of the cognitive lifting, while I probe them with questions that will enable them to think critical.

I am a calm, loving, nurturing father o...